Categories
Weather radar, pre-Doppler
The U.S. Weather Bureau installs the first WSR-57 weather radar in what in intended to eventually be a network of weather radars spanning the entire country. Derived from World War II radars, the WSR-57 is first installed at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, where it offers as much as two days’ advance notice of storms approaching the Florida coast in the years before weather satellites. This radar remains in service until 1992, when it is literally ripped off the NHC’s roof by the winds of Hurricane Andrew. It is later replaced by a WSR-88 NEXRAD radar, though by that time satellite imagery has become the primary means of remotely detecting major tropical weather events.
The 77th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is part six of the story now collectively known as 
Though the race to the moon has already been lost, the Soviet space program continues to refine its giant N1 rocket, conducting extensive modifications to nearly all of its systems. The third N1 to lift off almost immediately loses directional control, forcing ground controllers to signal it to self-destruct less than a mile off the ground. Its cargo is an unmanned Soyuz/Korabl combo – the Soviet answer to the Apollo command/service module and landing module – though this time there is no launch escape system, so the vehicle is destroyed along with its booster.
Atari releases the 
A latecomer to the glut of companies trying to provide software for the Atari 2600 video game system, US Games is closed down by its parent companies, Quaker Oats and Fisher-Price. Barely a year old, and with only 14 titles released, US Games is dubbed “an experiment” – but apparently not an experiment capable of surviving in the rapidly contracting video game market.
The week-long national syndication window opens for 
A tech demonstration at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads to a rethink of the upcoming Mars Environmental Survey mission (MESUR). A self-contained “rover” named Rocky IV convinces mission planners to include a similar rover on an upcoming Mars mission; although the rest of MESUR is eventually scrapped due to budget cuts, the one portion of it to be salvaged is the Mars Pathfinder lander, which will deliver the rover (later to be named Sojourner in a nationwide contest) to the Martian surface sometime in the late ’90s.
The 20th episode of George Lucas’ historical adventure series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles airs on ABC, starring Corey Carrier. Ping Wu (Seinfeld, Silicon Valley) guest stars.
The 12th episode of Escape From Jupiter airs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Co-produced by ABC and Japanese network NHK, this children’s sci-fi series stars Steve Bisley (Mad Max).
George Lucas films the first footage for the hotly-anticipated 
Pay cable channel Showtime premieres the 
Showtime airs the 77th episode of The Outer Limits, a revival of the 1960s science fiction anthology series. Brett Cullen (From The Earth To The Moon, Legacy) and Peter Stebbings (Jeremiah) guest star.
The 
Showtime broadcasts the ninth episode of The Man Who Fell To Earth, a series continuation of the 1976 David Bowie film, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, Bill Nighy, Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Prodigy), and Jimmi Simpson (Westworld).